One blessing at a time

Carrabba’s

This past Friday was date night for Greg and me. With Restaurant Week going on all around us, I’m not too sure why we chose Carrabba’s, but by the end of the meal I didn’t feel like I missed out on much. Between the bread and olive oil, antipasti plate, and seafood salad, I was perfectly happy without true “Charleston” food.

My main entree was the Insalata Johnny Rocco, which has quickly become one of my favorite salads. It’s filled with shrimp, scallops, roasted red peppers, olives and ricotta salata (for those of you like me who didn’t know what this meant, it’s a type of ricotta that has been “pressed, salted and dried.”) So good!!

What’s not so good are leftover salad greens that have already been coated in dressing and the juices from the vegetable toppings. Soggy and gross. No thanks.

So when I started getting pretty full about half way through my salad (bread and an appetizer will do that to you!), I realized I needed to strategize. I focused on only eating the greens and other veggies from the bowl. I ended up saving about half of the shrimp and scallops to bring home.

Fast-forward to lunchtime on Saturday and the leftovers were calling my name. The seafood amped up my usual sauteed veggie plate in this warm seafood salad. I used completely different vegetables than what the seafood was originally served with at Carrabba’s, so it had a completely different taste.

It filled me up almost just as much as the salad at dinner the night before, but I still a room for one or two – ok, two and a half – of my Snickerdoodle Bars.

Warm Seafood Salad

Makes 1 serving

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

Assorted shrimp and scallops, about 8 pieces total or 1/2 a cup

1/2 of a whole zucchini, sliced lengthwise

1/3 cup onion, sliced

1/2 medium green bell pepper

3 cups raw spinach

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Melt butter on a medium skillet over medium-low heat.

2. Add shrimp and scallops. Cook for about 3 minutes, flipping occasionally. Add zucchini, onion and beller pepper. Cook another 4-5 minutes, or until vegetables become tender and just begin to turn brown.

3. Turn heat down to low. Add spinach and stir everything together. Cook about 1-2 minutes, or until spinach leaves begin to wilt. Season with salt and pepper and stir one final time. Serve immediately.